The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons

From 2004 to 2011, American and American-trained Iraqi troops repeatedly encountered, and on at least six occasions were wounded by, chemical weapons remaining from years earlier in Saddam Hussein’s rule.

In all, American troops secretly reported finding roughly 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs, according to interviews with dozens of participants, Iraqi and American officials, and heavily redacted intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The New York Times found 17 American service members and seven Iraqi police officers who were exposed to nerve or mustard agents after 2003. American officials said that the actual tally of exposed troops was slightly higher.

The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons

While not at all surprising this story show just how cold and callus TPTB can be to our own front line troops.

“I felt more like a guinea pig than a wounded soldier,” said a former Army sergeant who suffered mustard burns in 2007 and was denied hospital treatment and medical evacuation to the United States despite requests from his commander.

more than 2,400 nerve-agent rockets unearthed in 2006 at a former Republican Guard compound.

Jarrod L. Taylor, a former Army sergeant on hand for the destruction of mustard shells that burned two soldiers in his infantry company, joked of “wounds that never happened” from “that stuff that didn’t exist.”

The government’s secrecy this sent men and women into harms way without giving the critical information they needed to protect themselves from the threat. Why they even withheld knowledge from the doctors there who had no idea some victims might have been exposed to Mustard and Saran gas.

Those very same Victims were order to keep there mouths shut,,, they were denied not only proper medical treatment but they didn't even get a purple heart for being wounded in action... See to give them that medal means they would have had to write down the reason for said citation...

but the word is finally getting out.

Daily mail
WROC
RT News

a reply to: HardCorps

Isnt this something that only first gulf war soldiers have ?

Why would anyone join the military these days..you get shat on during and after service.

a reply to: MGaddafi

Not entirely... Local police and civilians were also exposed to...
in truth they kept this such a huge secret, no ones really sure who or how many people were exposed...

a reply to: HardCorps

Irony?

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld helped Saddam Hussein build up his arsenal of deadly chemical and biological weapons, it was revealed last night.
As an envoy from President Reagan 19 years ago, he had a secret meeting with the Iraqi dictator and arranged enormous military assistance for his war with Iran.
The CIA had already warned that Iraq was using chemical weapons almost daily. But Mr Rumsfeld, at the time a successful executive in the pharmaceutical industry, still made it possible for Saddam to buy supplies from American firms.

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a reply to: HardCorps

My Unit found 50+ 155mm rounds of Blister agent near the Iranian border. We were never told to keep quiet about it. Maybe the Commander was, but he never told the rest of us if so.

I've always wondered what happened to those rounds after they were transported out of there. Usually, when we found a cache, we would blow it in place. Not that time though. (Which is a good thing)

I'm going to ask a MOD to close down my thread on this as it uses the same sources. Looking at the time stamp, I beat you by one minute...LOL. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. LOL But your thread has more sources than mine so I bow to you good Sir.

originally posted by: MGaddafi
a reply to: HardCorps

Isnt this something that only first gulf war soldiers have ?

Thats what I was wondering. These soldiers reportedly handled stocks that were to be de commissioned?

I have this remote memory that some of these ammo dumps were blown in place and may have had chemical weapons as part of their inventory. I remember that some soldiers down wind of that cloud had become ill. I don't have a link, just from memory.

The "Whole Gulf War" began in the early 90's so its a foggy memory.

a reply to: TDawgRex

Usually, when we found a cache, we would blow it in place. Not that time though. (Which is a good thing)

Right there. You blew up chemical munitions? If you feel like sharing what the reason for that was…

a reply to: intrptr

That's the The Khamisiya incident. My Unit was downwind of that as well, and we were repeatedly tested over the years that followed. I still have my original medical records and only gave the VA copies since we all know how their filing system is so steller. But at least the VA does check up on me from time to time concerning this.

In March 1991, combat engineers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams of the U.S. Army, conducted a demolition operation. The entire storage complex, containing massive quantities of munitions, was set to be destroyed. On 10 March, all explosive charges were detonated, and witnesses stated that the resultant explosion yielded an impressive mushroom cloud. It has not been confirmed how this explosion affected Iraqi civilians in the area, if at all.

It was not known at the time, but destruction of ordnance at Khamisiya is thought to have consequently released nerve agents such as sarin and cyclosarin into the atmosphere. Computer-generated models based on atmospheric conditions project that clouds of nerve agents would have drifted south and reached allied troops.[2] Records also show that Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) sensors monitoring the air soon reported traces of nerve agents. These NBC detection units were military units of several allied countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Poland.

a reply to: intrptr

I thought it had something to do with the sarin vaccine or serum ?

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: TDawgRex

Usually, when we found a cache, we would blow it in place. Not that time though. (Which is a good thing)

Right there. You blew up chemical munitions? If you feel like sharing what the reason for that was…

You misread it I think. Yes, we would blow large munition caches in place, not chemical munitions though, they were always trucked off elsewhere. I probably should have said that we did look and try to ID all the munitions first before wiring up C-4 willy nilly. Took pictures for the Intel weenies as well. Always a crapload of written reports after missions too.

a reply to: TDawgRex

Thanks for sharing. I guess thats one way to dispose of "chemicals"… make mushroom clouds of them.

Glad as well to hear you are being looked after. So many aren't.

a reply to: TDawgRex

a reply to: intrptr

Of course. I wouldnt think the Higher Ups would simply let grade A munitions be destroyed when they could be sold or even used.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: TDawgRex

You misread it I think. Yes, we would blow large munition caches in place, not chemical munitions though, they were always trucked off elsewhere.

Got it. Sounded like you intentionally did it. I meant all explosive are "chemical" and the clouds toxic.

a reply to: TDawgRex

My unit found several munitions caches as well... but all we grunts did was secure the area until EOD got there then we beat feet out of Dodge...

Speaking of dodgy... didn't the Chinese get in trouble for selling the ingredients for chemical weapons to Chemical Ali in the first place?

originally posted by: MGaddafi
a reply to: intrptr

Of course. I wouldnt think the Higher Ups would simply let grade A munitions be destroyed when they could be sold or even used.

The Chemical weapons that we found were pretty old, and not stored in a environmentally controlled bunker. Chemical weapons degrade pretty quickly if not stored properly. But even degraded chemical weapons can be deadly if you are close enough.

Degraded chemical weapons are not worth the risk. They pose more of a danger to those who are trying to use them, than they do to the enemy.

So much for no WMDs argument.

a reply to: TDawgRex

your lucky no one got hurt because if this report is true...
DOD would have denied your unit medical evac and treatment...

got to keep those secrets... even if it means letting good solders die rather than leave a paper trail right.

originally posted by: HardCorps

Speaking of dodgy... didn't the Chinese get in trouble for selling the ingredients for chemical weapons to Chemical Ali in the first place?

I don't really think they got into any trouble, unless you count a stern letter to them telling them how disappointed we are.